WordPress 101 Video Tutorials

WordPress 101 is a series of training videos designed to provide an introductory overview of WordPress. These HD-quality video screencasts will help you learn how to use WordPress to publish your own blog posts and pages, edit existing content on your web site, interact with your readers, and build traffic to your site.

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http://www.solostream.com/video-wp36/01-dashboard.mp4

01 – The Dashboard

The first video in this series provides an overview of the WordPress Administration Panel, which provides access to the functions and features of your WordPress-powered website. This video covers:

Familiarizing yourself with the Dashboard.

How to customize the WordPress interface.

Hiding Dashboard modules you rarely use.

The collapsible navigation menu and functions.

The default modules available to users.

How to use QuickPress to create a new Post.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

02 – Posts vs Pages

In this, the second video in this series, we’ll take a look at the two primary forms of content supported by WordPress … Posts and Pages. Posts are blog entries – or articles that are displayed in chronological order on your homepage, typically with the newest post at the top. Unlike pages, posts usually have comments beneath them and are also included in your site’s RSS feed. Pages, on the other hand, are typically used for static content, content that doesn’t change very often. Covered in this video:

The key differences between Posts and Pages.

Examples of both, in action.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

03 – The Editor

If you’ve ever used a text editor like Microsoft Word, then you’ll be right at home with the editor toolbar in WordPress. The buttons across the top of the edit pane allow you to simply format text by highlighting a word or phrase, then clicking the button corresponding with the appropriate format style. Covered in this video:

How to use every function in the editor toolbar to format content.

How to apply bold, italic, or strikethrough formats.

Inserting bulleted or numbered lists.

Highlighting text with the blockquote function.

Aligning text to the left, center, or right.

Creating and editing text links.

And More …

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04 – Creating a New Post

Posts are blog entries—or articles—that are displayed in chronological order on your homepage, typically with the newest post at the top. Unlike pages, posts usually have comments fields beneath them and are also included in your site’s RSS feed. Covered in this video:

How to create a new post using the Posts > Add New > sub-panel.

Personalizing the Add New Post interface.

How to resize the editing area.

Formatting text and content using the WYSIWYG editor.

Assigning categories and tags to your post.

Adding a Featured Image to your post.

Postdating or scheduling a post for another time.

How to save and publish posts to your site.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

05 – Post Formats

While all the Post Formats are available to theme developers, it’s possible that your theme doesn’t include support for specific Post Formats, so you may not see the Post Formats chooser at all. Or, the designer of your theme may not have created specific styles for each Post Format, in which case you won’t see much difference when choosing between them. Covered in this video:

Understanding the difference between the various Post Formats.

A tour of each Post Formats

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06 – Edit an Existing Post

The Posts > Edit sub-panel enables you to select the post(s) you wish to edit, delete, or view. Multiple posts can be selected for deletion and for editing. The Bulk Edit feature allows you to change the details for a group of posts at the same time. A handy in-line edit tool, called Quick Edit, allows you to update many fields for an individual post. Covered in this video:

How to bulk edit or delete multiple posts at the same time.

Using the Quick Edit tool to quickly change post details.

How to make a post “sticky” to keep it at the top of your page.

Editing, previewing and updating a post using the WYSIWYG editor.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

07 – Using Categories and Tags

In this video, we take a look at how to better organize your posts in WordPress through the use of Tags and Categories. Tags are essentially keywords that you assign to each post. Every post in WordPress is filed under one or more Categories. Categories allow your posts to be classifieds into groups and subgroups. Unlike tags, categories may be assigned to a parent category, enabling you to set up a hierarchy within the category structure. Covered in this video:

The difference between tags and categories.

How to add and edit categories.

Using subcategories to sort content hierarchically.

How to add and edit tags.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

08 – Creating and Editing Pages

In his video, we’ll cover how to edit and add new Pages. A Page is another tool to add content to a WordPress site and is often used to present content that doesn’t change often. An example of a page is the information typically contained in “About Us” Pages. Pages are not displayed with the rest of your Posts, but are displayed individually. Covered in this video:

The difference between Pages and Posts.

How to edit and delete pages.

How to bulk edit or delete multiple pages at once.

Using the Quick Edit tool to change page details.

Changing the order of your pages.

How to “nest” pages under a parent page.

Assigning different page templates.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

10 – How to Embed Video

In this video, we demonstrate how to embed a video into a post or page. The easiest way to embed video on your own site is to first upload your video to a video hosting service, such as YouTube or Vimeo.com. Once your video has been uploaded and converted successfully, it can be embedded within a post or page on your site with just a couple of clicks. Covered in this video:

Best practices for inserting video into your site.

Using Auto-Embed to easily embed videos and other content with just a couple of clicks.

Embedding other types of content, besides video.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

11 – Using the Media Library

In this video, we’ll examine how to use the Media Library to manage uploaded files, and upload other file types (such as PDFs or Word documents) for use in future posts or pages. Covered in this video:

How to upload new files using the Media > Library sub-panel.

How to bulk-edit or delete media files.

How to crop, rotate, or flip images using the built-in Image Editor.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

12 – Managing Comments

In this video, we’ll take a look at how to enable and moderate comments on your WordPress site. Comments are an important feature of a modern site, because they allow your readers to respond to your content and interact with you. Covered in this video:

How to enable Comments and Discussions.

Best practices and settings for allowing comments.

Filtering comments for language and content.

How to approve, edit, delete or mark a comment as spam using the Comments sub-panel.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

13 – How to Create a Link

In this video, we’ll discuss how to add links to your WordPress site. Often, you’ll be creating links within your posts and pages, which will enable you to share related and useful content with your readers. But, you can also build a list of links that you’d like your readers to check out, and this list of links can be displayed in your site’s sidebar. Covered in this video:

How to easily create a link within a post or page.

How to add new links to your sidebar.

Choosing the target or destination when your visitor clicks on a link.

Organize your links into related link categories for easy navigation.

Editing or deleting multiple links at once.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

14 – Changing Your Theme

From time to time, you might like to update the look and feel of your WordPress site. This video demonstrates how to change the look of your site by installing a new Theme. A theme is actually a bundle of files that determine the overall design of a site, including colors, graphics, layout, and fonts. Covered in this video:

How to find and install new themes.

Updating the look of your site with one click using the Appearance sub-panel.

Previewing changes before you activate a new theme.

Editing the background and header in the default WordPress Theme, Twenty Eleven.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

15 – Adding Widgets

In this video, we’ll learn what Widgets are, and how they can be used to easily add blocks of content to your site’s sidebar or footer. Widgets can be used to display your most recent posts and comments, archives, categories, or links in your sidebar or footer. Covered in this video:

What are widgets, and how do they appear on your website?

How to add and edit widgets using the Appearance > Widgets sub-panel.

How to rearrange the order of widgets in the sidebar of your site.

Making the most of multiple widget areas.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

16 – Building Custom Menus

In this video, you’ll learn how to use build custom navigation menus, including drop-down menu items. In the Menus sub-panel, you can create one or more custom menus, for use in your site’s primary navigation menu, or other areas in our site. Custom menus may contain links to individual pages, categories archives, or even external URLs. Covered in this video:

How to create a new custom menu.

Adding pages, categories and custom links to your menu.

How to rearrange menu items.

Creating nested, or drop-down menus.

How to build multiple custom menus, and why.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

17 – Installing Plugins

This video demonstrates how to find, install, and configure third-party plugins to add new functions and features to your WordPress site. Plugins allow you to add new features to your WordPress blog that don’t come standard with the default installation. There are thousands of plugins available for WordPress. Covered in this video:

What are plugins, and what do they do?

How to activate and deactivate plugins.

How to find new plugins directly from your dashboard.

Using the automatic plugin installer.

Configuring a sample plugin.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.

18 – Adding New Users

This video demonstrates how to add new users to your WordPress site, and assign permissions based on roles. The Authors & Users sub-panel enables you to set up new user accounts, as well as change user information, or delete users. Covered in this video:

How to add a new user.

How to edit or delete existing users.

How to set individual permissions for each user.

What roles and capabilities are available to each permission level?

Editing your own profile and login information.

This video is protected content, available only to SoloStream members.